


heavy the water as i sink below

by geekintheblack



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Anyways, F/F, i just can't believe we had two livewire episodes, i knooow it's not up to the supercat fandom quality standard, in s2 and s3 without a whisper of cat, no betas we die like men, soooo this happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-23 23:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14943072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekintheblack/pseuds/geekintheblack
Summary: Supergirl sounds rough, bothered. It’s not the usual weight-of-the-world tone she takes when donning the cape. It’s that something-terrible-happened voice and she dreads what comes next.Kara delivers some news personally. Episode tag for S03E11 'Fort Rozz'.





	heavy the water as i sink below

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from Livewire by Oh Wonder. Yes, yes, I'm very clever and original.

She’s just winding down after a long day, a drink in hand. There is no soft music playing as it usually would, and not a single TV in the house is on, a first since she’s moved here. Cat simply doesn’t have the energy to be paying attention to anything right now. Bhutan had reminded her what it was like to relax and unplug for a short while, and she’s thankful the habit stuck, even now that she’s back home. 

 

_Well,_ _not home, really_ , she thinks, but for now it’ll do.

 

Her cell phone needs to remain on for a multitude of reasons, but she’s very intently ignoring every buzz. Both Olivia and Carter would know to call her landline if they needed to reach her. Everyone else didn’t even have the number, and they had no reason to. Except, maybe… but no. 

 

She finishes her drink and stands up, wanting to have another and then go to bed for her mandatory four hours. Just as soon as Cat turns her back, though, there’s a small thud outside on her balcony and her heart is already racing, the absolute moron. She knows exactly what that sound is. It’s not even a particularly windy night, but she can still hear that stupid, dashing cape fluttering.

 

She sets the tumbler down and turns around then, her expression firmly blank. It doesn’t stay that way for long. In all honesty, this sight brings relief and elation and anger in equal measures. It was only a short while back - God, it feels like it’s only been hours - that Supergirl was thrown around and beaten into the ground by that overpowered leather disaster.

 

The White House was in chaos for the entire period of time where they had no news, no reports coming in, nothing. Nobody knew what would become of the hero. Almost an entire day passed before whatever shady secret agency Supergirl worked with confirmed she was out of the woods.

 

Cat had wanted to catch the first flight to National City then, but she had responsibilities here first that would keep her in place for a few days still. The balcony had been left open tonight for the  _ sole _ purpose of letting in some nice, late night breeze. Maybe, just maybe, she might’ve also secretly hoped for this visit, even though it was ridiculous of her. As far as she was aware, Supergirl had never set her shiny red boots anywhere near Washington DC, but still. Still, here she was.

 

“Supergirl, this is unexpected,” she says, fiercely hoping her voice does not tremble.

 

The hero doesn’t respond. She’s quiet, serious. Cat holds back the urge to roll her eyes. That was the case sometimes, too, back in National City, when Cat would be nursing a drink on her balcony at CatCo and Supergirl would just sit there in silence. The hours would stretch out as both enjoyed, for lack of a better word, the opportunity to brood without the added weight of solitude.

 

Cat motions lazily for her to come in, saunters back to the wet bar without waiting to see whether the hero follows her command. She’ll definitely need that other drink now.

 

“Would you like a drink? I know you always say you aren’t affected by it but I assume anyone can appreciate some nice-”

 

“Cat,” she says, and Cat frowns, turns back to the figure now hovering beside the couch.

 

Supergirl sounds rough, bothered. It’s not the usual weight-of-the-world tone she takes when donning the cape. It’s that something-terrible-happened voice and she dreads what comes next. Her fingers are already twitching for her cellphone because if this is serious, if there’s an emergency, or-

 

“Cat, Leslie’s dead.”

 

Oh. 

 

Cat stills. Supergirl is looking at her, and there is such despondence and melancholy in her eyes, and Cat is not even sure what she, herself, is feeling at the moment. It’s stupid, vain, but it feels like a personal failure on some level, like it did when Leslie became Livewire, and when she was arrested, but much worse. She looks down then, startled to see that her fists are clenched tightly. She swallows the lump in her throat and raises her head, locking eyes with the superhero in front of her.

 

“I know she escaped last year. So I… assume you found her.” 

 

The question remains unasked but Cat knows Supergirl can hear it loud and clear. 

 

_ Did you kill her? _

 

Supergirl begins to shake her head but pauses, and for the first time tonight she’s not looking at Cat anymore, focusing on the frame hanging in the opposite wall. It’s a picture of Carter on his first day of Kindergarten, eyes bright and cheeks flush with excitement, his wide smile showing a couple of missing teeth. Supergirl closes her eyes then, takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, and it reminds Cat of a day in her office, a lifetime ago, where someone held back tears and told her she didn’t do well with change.

 

“I…” she starts, but her voice catches. 

 

In an instant, Cat is closer to her, closer than she planned to be, and her fingers reach out to the woman’s face, trailing her cheek for a brief moment before her hands settle on a shoulder each and squeeze gently. “Oh, Kara…”

 

It’s all it takes. 

 

She suddenly has an armful of blonde, golden-hearted alien clinging to her and sobbing, and Cat’s heart clenches almost painfully. She can’t do anything but hold her tightly, whisper meaningless platitudes that she would hate to receive.

 

_ It’s ok. You’re ok. Shh, it’ll be all right. _

 

She knows it’s not ok by the way she’s shaking and how there are no words of denial, of defensiveness. They’re abandoning the charade but this is not how Cat imagined nor hoped it would go. She hadn’t accounted for so many tears, for starters. Maybe  she’d expected another kind of closeness to ensue. Her own thoughts startle her, as does the wetness on her own cheeks.

 

For what could’ve been hours or minutes, Cat is truly not sure, both women hold each other and mourn the life and loss of Leslie Willis, the loudmouthed, crass, strongly opinionated woman that Cat had tried many times to bring under her wing, but had only managed to throw to the wolves. Kara recounts the events of the last 24 hours once her tears subside and they settle down on the couch, and Cat’s heart breaks and soars at the same time, somewhat comforted in knowing Livewire gave her life for the greater good. A woman who’d spent her life building herself up metaphorically, and then literally, as the villain, had died a hero’s death.

 

“I’m sorry… for just showing up, but I knew you’d want to know and- frankly, I just needed to see you, Cat. I’ve missed you so much. Things have just...”

 

“Oh, I’ve missed you too, darling,” she says, “and this balcony isn’t here for the aesthetic of it, you know.”  _ You’re always welcome here _ , is what she wants to but doesn’t say. It’s implied, like many things are between them.

 

“Sounds an awful lot like an invitation, Ms. Grant,” Kara attempts to tease, a small smile playing on her face, “I figured you wouldn’t have time for us National City folks, now that you’re out here with the giants in suits.”

 

“It’s not all that glamourous,” she responds wryly, “almost like a day-long board meeting everyday, but all the smug, selfish jackasses have an extra layer or two of self-importance.”

 

They continue their light-hearted chat for a few more minutes, but Cat’s patience wears thin and she quickly pounces on the opportunity to discuss Reign. She sits back and listens to her former assistant listing out facts that are barely anything more than what the White House already knows, injecting reassurances that everything will be all right every few sentences. Inwardly, she sighs. Kara talks a big talk for someone clearly without any plans or direction, and Cat just desperately hopes that when the time comes, Supergirl will rise to the occasion, as she’s always done.

 

Her four hours are shot, she realizes, when the sun starts peeking out in the distance and Kara sighs, standing up and straightening her skirt. Before she knows it, Cat is up and engulfed in another steel hug as the girl says goodbye and promises to visit soon, and to bring good news then.

 

“Thank you, Cat, for everything. Just… thank you.”

 

“Yes, yes, go be a hero, now. And you’d better stay safe and not scare Carter like that again,” she says airily, with feigned indifference.

 

Kara’s expression shifts to something Cat can’t properly interpret, and she steps impossibly closer.

 

“Tell  _ Carter _ not to worry, because I’ll be fine. I’m always fine, because I have a home and people I love, and I’ll always come back for them,” she says, looking into her eyes with such intensity Cat has to stop herself from staggering back. She surprises her again, pressing her lips to her cheek in a quick, feather light kiss, before speeding to the balcony and shooting off.

 

Cat stands in her living room, alone, and wonders idly if she’s finally lost her mind and hallucinated for an entire hour or two. Just then, her phone buzzes again, twice, almost falling from the living room centerpiece, and she picks it up, reads the texts with trembling hands and a fluttering heart.

 

_ When this is all over, I’ll show you how much National City misses you. _

 

_ How much it needs you to come home. _

 

She taps out an answer quickly, before she can talk herself out of it.

 

_ We’ll discuss it over dinner, then. _

 

_ Deal. _

 

_ It’s a date. Don’t get killed. _

 

_ ;) _

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to hear what you guys thought of this one. It's my first Supercat fic and Cat is so... Cat, I'm afraid I didn't get her quite right.
> 
> You can also yell at me on tumblr: geekintheblack.tumblr.com


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